Employment

Today we released a new data tool that finds that what a two-parent household with two children in Texas must earn to cover basic expenses like affordable housing, food, child care, and health care ranges from $35,320 a

This weekend, we contributed a piece to the Austin American-Statesman’s legislative series. You can read the full oped below, which originally ran in the Statesman on Sunday, Dec. 9:
Sarah Campsey’s children are her world. She’d sacrifice anything to give

This week, the Austin American-Statesman ran an oped I wrote about the flawed legislation filed that would require welfare and unemployment benefits applicants to be drug tested.
Instead of going down this costly and unnecessary route, we should be focusing on

By Andrea Mayo
In 2011, nine percent of Texas teenagers age 16 to 19 were neither in school nor in the workforce. Unless Texas takes action, these young people will likely face substantial personal challenges to success and impose a large

The income gap between the Texas families at the top and bottom of the income ladder is the 7th highest in the nation, according to a new report by two national research organizations.
The average household income for the

By Don Baylor & Leslie Helmcamp
This Labor Day we hear that the Texas unemployment rate has remained below the national average. We also hear that Texas has added new jobs every month for the past two years. What we don’t hear

The adult basic education system can be a bright spot for many Texans looking to better their career prospects, find stable employment, and earn a thriving wage. In fact, Texas’ adult basic education providers—anchored in local nonprofits and community colleges—

Texas’ colleges and universities just received their report cards and the grades are mixed. While Texas leads much of the country on transparency and accountability, our two-year institutions made low grades for student access and success. Even though Texas’